People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!: The 10 Ways You Are Sabotaging Yourself and How You Can Overcome Them

by Larry Winget

Book Overview

Read Larry Winget's posts on the Penguin Blog The Pitbull of Personal Development and New York Time bestselling author is back with advice on the dumb things people do to sabotage their success What... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592404375
• ISBN13: 9781592404377
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Gotham Books
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Larry proved it.

People are idiots. (He did not have to prove it to me, I have worked in retail for over 20 years). If you want an author who will get in your face and challenge you to quit whining and making excuses and change, then this book is for you. If you are overly sensitive or love being a loser, then you will likely find the author to be rude and crude. You will also be offended by his rants. For me I enjoyed his sense of humor and agree with the principles in his book to take 100% responsibility for your life and make changes if you want different results. The truth is we have created the circumstances in our life through our actions. We spend our time on what is most important to us. We have in our life what we were willing to pay the price for. Every decision we make takes us either closer to our goals or farther away from them, choose wisely. If you sit up and pay attention this book will show us all how we act like idiots sometimes. We sabotage our lives when we are ignorant, stupid, lazy, don't care, lack vision, have low expectations, don't recognize the consequences of our actions, have bad habits, have poor role models, and have no plan. The author shows how to overcome all of these challenges through sound principles and common sense. This is not rocket science but it is solutions to problems that some readers may not even know that they have. You will find principles in this book that will change your life. Don't be an idiot, buy the book and learn something new.

Truth smackdown!

Wow! Winget obviously ticked some people off with this one. I had to go back and look at the book again to be sure we were reviewing the same one. The book I read was about the power of taking action, positive role models, personal responsibility, keep on learning, be charitable, the role of integrity, and a lot of other ideas that must be incredibly controversial to some people. Look, Larry's style might not be your cup of tea. He gets in your face. Admittedly, he's not all cute and cuddly like some motivational gurus. But his goal is (my guess) to make us think about the consequences of our actions. Period. With this economy like it is I'm personally grateful for a well timed kick in the butt. I don't need to be blaming anybody for anything right now. I need to get on with life and understand that I've got choices to make every day. Larry's book helps me make better choices.

Often the most valuable advice is what we don't want to hear...

I finally got to sleep this morning at 6AM. "People Are Idiots" literally kept me awake all night. Not just because it's a "page turner" (which it IS), but also because it had me thinking so much about my life that I couldn't stop writing notes, pondering the future, and contemplating Larry's advice. I'm always wary of reviewers who write a long treatise here. It seems they have an axe to grind -- positive or negative -- and that their position is more about them than it is the book. So, here's the bottom line: If you want to get fuzzy inspiration, this isn't the book for you. If, however, you want a book that shows you how to get your act together, quit sabotaging yourself, and have a better year in 2009, regardless of the economy, stop reading reviews and start buying (and reading) this book. You may -- or may not -- like HOW Larry makes his points. However, WHAT he says will change your life. It has mine. Sometimes the most valuable advice is the stuff we don't want to hear.